Terror's chill summer wind

Announcements about the possible threat of another terrorist attacks, perhaps employing a "dirty bomb," at venues such as the two political conventions in the US or the Olympics in Greece, sent a winter chill around the world.

US Attorney General John Ashcroft's warning that a large attack was planned for the " next few months" made page one of almost every major US newspaper.

'Credible intelligence from multiple sources indicates Al Qaeda plan to attempt an attack on the US in the next few months. It indicates Al Qaeda's specific intention to hit the US hard.'

But hand-in-hand with Ashcroft's warnings, (and muscled aside by the dramatic nature of anopther terrorist attack in the US) was the announcement by Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, in Vienna, Wednesday, of a $450 million US program to counter the wide availability of spent reactor fuel and other radioactive and radiological materials that could be used in making a dirty bomb, reports the Guardian:

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The initiative is part of a strategy emerging from the Bush administration aimed at curbing nuclear proliferation and preventing so-called rogue states or terrorist groups obtaining nuclear weapons. ...the priority was to recover 300 tons of high enriched uranium and have it stored in Russia by the end of next year.

Experts say that a dirty bomb in and of itself would not necessarily cause much physical damage, but would be devastating due to the panic and chaos it would create. It could also leave lasting radiological contamination.

Abraham was to travel to Moscow Thursday, reports the Guardian, to sign an agreement with the Russian atomic energy ministry.

The agreement lays out a:

Six-year timetable for recovering uranium fuel from research reactors supplied by the US and the former Soviet Union, [and for] which Washington is to finance the repatriation to Russia of uranium fuel from 20 research reactors in 17 countries. The fuel, much of it weapons-grade or easily refined for use in a nuclear device, is to be stored in Russia and blended down.

The US also provided Greek police and border officials with radiation detection equipment this week to help guard the Olympic games against a nuclear or dirty bomb, reports The (Clevland) Plain Dealer. The security package was similar to one provided during the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

Reuters reports that:

The United States and seven other countries, along with the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), have been providing the Greek government with technology, expertise and intelligence.

And as an added bonus, international cooperation in safeguarding against a dirty bomb at the Olympics will likely extend after the event, Reuters reporterd:

The IAEA said that radiation detectors had been installed at borders and other entry points in Greece, while mobile detection devices will be deployed elsewhere. Hand-held radiation monitors are being distributed among the thousands of security and customs officials policing the Games.

There were some critics suspicious of the timing of the terror alert by the Bush administration, reports the BBC.

Harold Schaitberger, General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said that the administration had known about the threats for a month.

'I do find it awfully convenient and suspicious that it happens to be tied in right behind the president's recent message to the nation as well as his troubling, plummeting poll numbers,' he said.

Democratic Senator John Kerry challenged Bush's commitment to "providing the resources necessary to protect the country," reports the BBC.

[Kerry]said that while Americans would be struck by the administration's 'seriousness and concern' over the issue, the threat had highlighted certain failures. The authorities had in particular been unable to provide security on trains and chemical plants, and to inspect containers coming into US ports, he said.

However one wants to judge the political motivation of the most recent terror announcements, efforts by governments to warn their citizens of possible terrorist attacks on the scale of the Madrid bombings must continue, writes the Economist:

So the authorities in America, Britain and elsewhere must continue trying to prepare the public for the possibility of a big terrorist attack, while doing their utmost to step up surveillance of terrorist suspects. Last month, it was reported that an intelligence operation had foiled an attempt by suspected Al Qaeda sympathisers to explode a chemical bomb in Britain. This time, the terrorists were stopped. But they appear to have the means, and the motivation, to keep trying.

Also...
• Fact Sheet on Dirty Bombs ( US Nuclear Regulatory Commission)
• FBI Seeks Tips on 7 Linked to Al Qaeda ( The Washington Post)
• Al Qaeda suspects : Who are they? ( Salt Lake Tribune)
• Case Reveals Nuts and Bolts of Nuclear Network, Officials Say ( The Los Angeles Times)
• Trading with the enemy ( Forbes)
• Nuclear Security at the Summer 2004 Olympic Games ( IWS - The Information Warfare Site )

• Feedback appreciated. E-mail Jim Bencivenga .